Research

At 97Percent, we talk to fellow gun owners to understand their priorities and concerns, and we use their feedback to inform everything we do. In fact, it was our original research conducted during the summer of 2019 that led us to launch our organization. 

We identify areas of common ground between gun owners and non-gun owners in order to develop workable strategies to reduce the more than 47,000 gun-related deaths per year in the U.S. And there is plenty of common ground.

What else stands out? Gun owners feel left out of the conversation around gun violence and are even more supportive of solutions than conventional wisdom would have us believe. That’s why we formed 97Percent.

Think you know everything about gun owners?

40%

of first time gun-owners in 2020 were women

86%

of gun owners support keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals

 36%

of Americans over 65 personally own a firearm, the highest of any group

 90%

of gun owners do not view guns as part of their overall identity

Our most recent analysis, ERPOs Function as Distinct Context-Specific Firearm Violence Prevention Tools, authored by Tara Rose, MS, and Christopher Carita, MPH, provides a groundbreaking, case-study analysis of Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) across four distinct state models. Moving beyond a "one-size-fits-all" narrative, it provides critical insights into how statutory design, local infrastructure, and regional cultures interact to fundamentally transform how these laws function in practice.

KEY FINDINGS

  • A Policy of Uniqueness: ERPOs are not a uniform policy with minor variations, but highly distinct legal instruments that require intentional, context-specific implementation to reach their full safety potential.

  • The 5-Point Framework: An effective assessment of an ERPO's utility depends on five critical dimensions: legal frameworks, regulatory ecosystems, implementation infrastructure, political and cultural contexts, and geographic disparities.

  • Beyond the Statute: Factors such as local leadership and specialized threat assessment training are often more influential in driving policy adoption and effectiveness than the written law itself.

  • The Role of Regulatory alternatives: In robust regulatory environments like Massachusetts, low ERPO usage does not indicate failure, but rather highlights how alternative administrative mechanisms can successfully bypass court processes to mitigate risk.

  • Bipartisan Adoption is Possible: As demonstrated in Florida, restricted petitioner access coupled with strong infrastructure and behavioral threat training can lead to high utilization rates across politically diverse and conservative regions.

This analysis challenges traditional policy transfer assumptions and upends the notion that "red flag" laws operate identically nationwide. By offering an evidence-informed starting point for researchers and jurisdictions developing ERPO frameworks, this research provides clear-cut evidence that the path to reducing gun violence lies in comprehensive, locally integrated public safety systems.

Our Research Archive